Other TV 15 - 21 November

Posted by The TV Critic on 21 November 2009 | 0 Comments

Tags: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dexter

Dexter - 408 - Road Kill

I know all TV shows do it, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying. Dexter is on the verge of killing Trinity and instead he escapes and gets to live another day. Or to put it another way, he gets to live for a few more episodes until the season finale. Sometimes shows can explain away these delaying tactics effectively but in this case it felt like time wasting.

This episode also didn’t convince me on other levels. Trinity starts telling strangers at a diner about how he was responsible for the deaths of his entire family. Umm ok. This is a man who has managed to compartmentalise the two sides of his life for thirty years. He socialises with people all day, every day, he would know that it was deeply inappropriate to share his pain with strangers. It was a bizarre bit of behavior and the ease with which he shrugged off a suicide attempt seemed too easy as well. Add to this that Dexter didn’t seem remorseful enough for my tastes. The episode was trying to show that Dexter felt regret over killing an innocent man but actually he seemed more monstrous than ever. He was itching to kill Trinity and happy to let him plunge to his death as long as he could be involved in it. A bit of a mess of an episode.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - 709 - The Table Read

It took me a long time to warm up to Seinfeld. I am still on an unofficial search to discover why the show was so successful and loved. But by now I am a fan and see the genius behind it. So to see a theoretical Seinfeld reunion being acted out was a real joy. It felt like a perfect combination of elements. The writing got both the Seinfeld and the Curb plot points into the script. So Curb plots such as cutting a dolls hair and the hooker in the car pool lane were in. But so were Jerry and Elaine’s never ending pseudo-romance, George’s knowledge of acceptable bath rooms and a very plausible link to Bernie Madoff and the global financial downturn. Not to mention of course the guest appearances by Newman, Estelle and Kenny Banya. They even went to the expense of recreating the sets.

Even the arguments with Jason Alexander worked better than the average Curb shouting matches because of the sub text that Jason is Larry on screen. It’s as if Larry is disappointed all the time that Jason isn’t happier to be playing him. Often jokes work in Curb when Larry is in the right or at least a sympathetic position. So here Larry tries to fit in by using the word pussy, he isn’t being insensitive at all, but of course he leaves a trail of amusing horror in his wake.  Then we had the meeting of Michael Richards (Kramer) with the Curb Kramer, Leon. You knew Larry would want to bring up Richards’ infamous racial outburst and this was an inoffensive way to bring it up. The episode was very long though and probably could have been even tighter with one sub plot removed.

Community - 110 - Environmental Science

Community is really developing some happy ending stories here which are definitely fun to watch. It feels like American comedy has gone so far in the direction of the awkward comedy that there is finally room for the big soppy happy ending to seem fresh again. The show is also giving credibility to its characters. Pierce shows he can be helpful to others, Jeff and Troy learn to be kind to their friends. And Senor Chang continues his streak of being funny. “I pleasure that woman greatly” he says. “You look like you would have to” responds Jeff.

Parks and Recreation - 210 - Hunting Trip

Another enjoyable episode from the gang. The way the characters took to firing guns was fun, plausible and as a European, a little scary. I thought the plot became less interesting when Leslie began covering for Tom. I didn’t like the montage of excuses she gave as it didn’t seem like that conversation would ever have really taken place. If he did believe her excuse of stupidity then wouldn’t she get in some kind of trouble? But I thought the Andy-April side plot was genius. At first this season I thought Andy was an unnecessary character who would drag the show down. But the writers have done a great job of making him seem more plausible, likeable and now a sort of jester at work who everyone likes. The way April’s affection for his childish behavior grew was well written and begins to grow the character relationships beyond their initial states.

Leslie comes in to argue with Ron about his secret hunting trip. He lazily denies that it is a hunting trip. “You’re literally listening to turkey calls” she points out. To which Ron replies “Is this not rap?” In the history of bad sit com excuses that was right up there. Great delivery from Ron.